The Trial
by GGina8
Summary: What if during the trial (in 1x10 "I don't wanna know" ) Eric was also punished for something he had done? What did he do? And how did the Magister punish him?...Eric angst with some cute Eric/Pam scenes :)


**AN.: Hi everyone! I know that lately I haven't been updating my other stories and that I should be writing those instead of writing random one-shots, but this idea popped into my mind. Also I'm having a little bit of writer's block with Nightmares. And in addition to everything I have my finals next week :/So I'm sorry that I haven't posted for long I'll try to post a new chapter in all of my stories soon. In the meanwhile enjoy this! Love you all and just know that I haven't abandoned any of my other stories!**

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_„Then proceed"_ The Magister's harsh voice commanded. Bill looked at the pathetic human girl at his feet regretfully. He was such a pussy. Then suddenly he looked up at the Magister like he remembered something important.

„Before I do this, I believe that there is one more charge that includes me." Everyone raised their eyebrows at this. What else had fucking Compton done?

I looked at Eric to see if he knew something, but he silently shook his head.

"Is there?" The Magister seemed to type something into his iPad then smiled. "Indeed there is. Until I pronounce sentence in that case, lock the girl back into the car-truck."

The female vampire (I didn't catch her name) grabbed the pitiful thing again by the hair and dragged her towards the car where she locked her in.

"The next one is Eric Northman again." I could feel him stiffen next to me and he stepped forward confidently. What the hell?

"Magister, may I ask what I'm charged with?" From the outside he seemed totally cool and collected, but through our bond I could feel that he was confused and trying to find something, anything that could have gotten him into this situation.

"You don't know? Well then, have a look at this." With that a screen rolled down behind him and the following video was quite shocking:

Eric was sitting on his throne at Fangtasia and there were several short clips that showed him kicking and threatening fangbangers. The last one was from earlier that day at the shifter's bar.

There was a short part where he loomed over that pathetic guy then there was a cut and his voice rang out clearly. "Oh, before I go, a word of advice. When we know the human has wronged us. We can smell it. So do not make the mistake of letting the pretty blond vampire lady on television make you feel too comfortable. We may not have retaliated ... yet. But we know who you are. Have a nice night. "

I could feel Eric's anger rise and I could only hope that he wouldn't snap.

"Does it sound familiar now?" The Magister's tone was mocking like he was trying to provoke Eric.

"Yes Magister. Though I don't see how I committed a crime." Eric pronounced it through clenched teeth. Even though he may have seemed to be playing dumb, actually he was right. There were no rules against threatening and kicking humans.

The Magister arched an eyebrow. "Do I need to explain to you the importance of human relations, Northman? It has been ordered by the one true Vampire Authority that we should be _friendly_ towards the humans in such dire times. Yet you straight ahead disobeyed it. Nan Flanagan is working hard to make peace with the humans and make them accept us. Something you seem to be against. Thanks to Mister Compton here this will not continue in your area."

At this Eric lost it. With an "I'm gonna fucking kill you Compton!" he lounged himself at Bill.

I couldn't believe it that Compton would do something like this against Eric, who mere minutes ago protected him in front of the Magister.

It took three vampires with silver chains to keep my maker from ending the infatuated tween. I didn't know if I should help him or not. He clearly wanted to kill Mr '_Sookieh is mine' _but before the trial he told me not to interfere and get myself into any trouble.

"That's enough Northman. Although I would quite enjoy some action I must forbid you to kill William Compton. We can't have our numbers further decreased." By this time Eric seemed to have calmed down and the guards let him go.

"As for your sentence…you have had a thousand years to learn obedience, yet you haven't. It seems like I will have to teach you some." Fear clenched my gut. Was he going to torture him? "One thousand lashes with the hooked scourge shall teach you what you failed to learn during those years."

The crowd gasped and most of them got a wicked sadistic smile on their faces. I gasped for an entirely different reason.

I knew what the hooked scourge was (made of silver, with a leather handle, it had nine thongs and all of them had a steel hook at their ends), and I also knew that it was used only for a few dozen lashes. It caused so severe pain that someone seldom got more than a hundred lashes with it. For Eric to get a thousand…

He didn't seem too fazed by this though. He simply nodded and took off his T-shirt, which I took from him.

Then two really muscular vampires came and seized Eric by his arms while another brought the whip. It was really dirty I noted, with pieces of dead flesh and dried blood still covering it and I wondered when the last time it had been cleaned was.

My wondering was short lived as my attention was brought back by the whip cracking on my maker's back.

He didn't move, didn't flinch, didn't even make a sound, but from the fact that he immediately shut the bond between us as the vampire prepared to whip him, I knew that it hurt. A lot. No, I've never been whipped by it – Eric always managed to get me out of trouble, sadly sometimes by him taking the blame, but word goes around, and having done some torturing in my past I could determine how much pain and damage an object can cause.

The blows kept landing on his back, but Eric didn't cry out and after a while everyone got bored of his unresponsiveness and the Magister suggested that we resume the trial.

Compton turned the girl and that was the most pathetic turning I've ever seen. It started off with a talk between Bill and his soon-to-be-progeny about Jesus and heaven and all that shit. Then when it finally came to draining the girl the little piece of shit couldn't even drain her properly! There was more blood on her clothing and on the ground than Bill managed to drink! After that Chow took them to bury them.

But I as I was watching the pitiful turning my attention was focused on Eric. He bore it in silent stiffness, but the sight of his back was getting worse and worse.

After a few hundred strokes the hooks had broken half of his ribs and he was trembling slightly, I was pretty sure not many vampires noticed it. At 800 he stopped breathing entirely and went limp as he relaxed into the pain.

A few more strokes later the Magister realised this and called out. "What's with Northman? Is he even conscious? We would want him fully aware during this."

To my (and many other vampire's) surprise Eric managed a snarky answer. "Yes, I'm conscious. I was merely enjoying the ride." Though at the end of the sentence he coughed up blood, as the scourge had damaged his lungs.

Even the Magister didn't expect such reply. "Well, maybe next time I should find you something more painful then. You remember when we used some ancient roman and Greek punishments back in the 1700s? You didn't seem to enjoy _that."_

I don't know how it was possible, but Eric paled even further and he got a haunted look in his eyes. I didn't know that he had a run-in with the Magister in the 1700s. Maybe I should ask him about it later.

He didn't reply to this as the scourge kept tearing at his back. I knew that no one bought that he was enjoying it. The Magister simply wanted to blunt my maker's sharp tongue.

The last hundred blows they counted backwards and I could tell that Eric was relieved that it was soon over.

The last blow tore down his entire left ribcage and he winced, but still didn't cry out. After that the guards let go of him and I was by his side in that second, prepared to catch him before he fell.

He staggered for a second but then he regained his footing and pushed me away. "I'm fine, Pam." He stood up straight. "I believe our business here is done." He was coughing up blood again. Not good.

"Yes, your sentence has been executed. You are dismissed, Northman. But next time I won't be so lenient." With that we started walking towards the minivan we came with only to find that Eric's red corvette was there instead. Chow must have taken Compton and the girl with the van.

As soon as we were out of sight Eric started trembling. I didn't know whether from the adrenaline, the shock, the blood-loss or the pain, but I was pretty sure it was a mixture of all.

My theory was confirmed when we reached the car and I grabbed Eric's arm in order to help him manoeuvre into the car. He felt really cold.

He sat down with a yelp as his back connected with the seat and his eyes rolled back into his head from the pain.

But he didn't pass out and I helped him position himself so that his neck was propped against the car door so his back wasn't touching anything and he buried his face into his drawn-up knees.

As soon as he was in a somehow comfortable position I covered his shivering form with his T-shirt and my coat then quickly started the engine and we drove off.

When we reached the highway I pulled up the car's hood and offered my wrist for Eric.

"Here, drink. We won't be able to stop for a snack before sunrise. Just don't take too much; I don't want to add to your current injuries by crashing the car."

He gently took my arm and slid his fang into it. I'll have you know that however gently done vampire bites do hurt unless you are in a highly sexual situation.

However the feeling of having our blood drawn is quite erotic and I couldn't stop a moan from slipping through my lips.

After a few mouthfuls he pulled away and nodded his thanks. His shivering seemed to decrease.

The rest of the ride passed in silence except for the low humming of the engine and the sickening sound of tissues knitting together.

We barely made it to Eric's home before sunrise and by the time we got there the sky had already started to turn light.

I tried to help Eric in getting into the house, but he shrugged me off with an "I'm fine Pam. Stop fussing!"

I let him have his way and watched as he made his way towards the house wavering and shivering slightly.

He went into his bathroom and turned towards me in the door. "I'm going to take a shower, Pam and as much as I usually enjoy your company I don't think the two of us showering together would be as much fun as it usually is in my current _situation_." He coughed up some blood again and I was getting worried about his lungs.

He went to close the door, but I stopped him. "Eric, are you insane? You want to shower like this? I never thought you were a masochist, but now I'm reconsidering it. Vampire or not such wound needs to be cleaned and bandaged and I'm pretty sure hot running water doesn't do any good to it!" I grabbed his arm and dragged him towards his bed which would have been a lot difficult thing to do if he hadn't been weekend and in a lot of pain.

"Now, lie down and let me clean your back before I call Dr Ludwig and have her do it. And I'm pretty sure she will strap you to your bed."

Eric growled low in his throat, but obeyed and lay down onto his stomach, hands folded under his head.

I went downstairs to grab the first-aid kit (you would be surprised how often I needed to use it), some towels and a bowl of water.

When I returned Eric was shivering on the bed, most probably knowing the pain cleaning his back would cause, his mind was sending his body into shock.

I sat down next to him onto the bed, placing all the stuff I had brought onto the nightstand and inspecting the damage done to him.

Even though my blood helped him start to heal, his back was still a bloody mess, lot of his ribs had been broken and shattered by the hooks of the scourge and there were parts missing from his lungs, all the skin had been torn off.

I really considered calling Ludwig. She would at least be able to give Eric something to knock him out or numb the pain while she professionally cleaned him up. But I knew Eric wouldn't be too keen on the idea. He had some inexplicable fear of doctors and needles. Something that I could never understand and whenever I asked him about it he denied it.

I quickly wetted one of the towels and started to gently rub it over Eric's back, trying to remove most of the blood and torn tissues.

As soon as the cloth made contact with his back Eric tensed up and he went completely stiff. I ran my hand through his hair.

"Try to relax Eric, I know it hurts. I'll be as gentle as I can, but it would be the best if you just gave in to the pain and passed out." I knew that he was too proud to do that but it was worth a shot.

He shook his head vehemently and buried his face into his arms. _Stubborn Viking!_

After his back was somewhat free of blood I picked up some tweezers and went to pick the shards of his ribs from his back. As I picked the sharp pieces his shivering became violent and his teeth started to chatter. When I had about half of his back cleaned he suddenly hissed out:

"Give me a minute, Pam." I knew that he was close to crying out and I wondered if I should let him collect himself or simply continue and have him understand that I wouldn't think less of him if he showed his pain. Of course we had discussed this many times over the centuries. Eric was just too damn proud.

I decided to pause for a few minutes and while I was letting him take a break, call Ludwig and ask her if Eric could have got some infection from the whip and if so, how I could prevent it from spreading through his body.

"Hello?"

"Good evening Doctor Ludwig it's Pamela Swynford de Beaufort, Eric Northman's progeny."

"What do you want vampire?" Do I have to explain that she doesn't really like my kind?

"I was calling you since a vampire has been whipped by a scourge today and it was quite bloody and covered in some other vampire's remains and I was wondering if it could have carried some infection."

Yes, believe it or not there are some infections apart from hepatitis-D and Sino-aids that can affect vampires though we keep it secret.

"Well it most probably had a lot of bacteria on it, but whether they can affect vampires depends on how long before the scourge was used on another vampire."

"I don't know. The blood was dry and most certainly not tonight. Probably a few nights ago?"

"Hmmm…I see. In that case there is little chance that it could carry some infection, but I'll have one of my drivers send over a wide-spectrum vaccination just in case." Eric won't be happy.

"Thank you for your help. I would ask you to send the vaccination to Mr Northman's apartment...One more thing: could you tell me if I should do anything else to the said vampire's wounds apart from cleaning the blood, the remains of dead tissues and pieces of the broken ribs from the area then sterilizing it?"

"No, I think that's all. Give Northman the vaccination and he should be fine in a few days. I'm quite sad that I won't be there to witness how you try to convince him to let you give it to him." Yeah Dr Ludwig had treated Eric enough time to know how difficult he could be when it came to shots. "I'll send my check tomorrow." And she hung up before I had a chance to ask how she knew that it was Eric who I was tending to.

When I got back I could see that Eric's shivering had almost completely died down. I went to pick up the tweezers to resume my task, but as soon as I sat down onto the bed Eric's muscles went rigid and his eyes snapped open nostrils flaring. He must have been pretty disorientated from the blood loss.

When he realised it was only me he nestled his head back into his arms, but his muscles remained stiff. I took it as my cue to continue picking the shards of his broken ribs from his back.

When it was done he was shivering more intensively again and I couldn't help feeling sorry for him for what I was about to do.

I picked up the bottle with the sterilizing liquid and leaned down to whisper into Eric's ear.

"Eric, can you hear me?" He slowly nodded his head. "I'm going to pour some sterilizer onto your back to prevent you from getting any serious infections. This will hurt. I'm sorry." Eric nodded his head and steeled himself for what was about to come.

Yes, antiseptic burned vampires' wounds just as much as it burned the humans' if not more as our senses were heightened and it included the feeling of pain.

I started pouring it onto Eric's back as it was the only way to ensure that it got to all the right places.

As soon as it started to seep into his wounds Eric let out a scream and I couldn't blame him for it. His wounds were deep and I couldn't fathom how he managed to keep silent this long.

He kept screaming in agony until the antiseptic seeped into his lungs and then he started gasping and coughing. But to my surprise he didn't pull away or try to stop me he simply let me torment him, until I was sure that his back had been properly sterilized.

After it was done he lay limply on the bed, completely exhausted and tired. I didn't bandage his back for him as I knew that it would only aggravate the wound further and slow the growing back of his ribs.

I quickly cleaned up all the blood from the bed and removed the covering layer from under him since it got blood-stained then took off his jeans and pulled up the covers to his hips. Then I went to the fridge to retrieve some Royalty Blended for him.

He drained 3 bottles before putting his head back down with a content sigh.

"Thank you, Pam."

"You are welcome Eric, sleep now, you need to rest." His eyes began to flutter closed as I glanced towards the bedside clock 7:30. It had been an hour since sunrise and during my worry for Eric I didn't even feel it.

As I started to close the door of his room I heard his hoarse voice call out. "Rest with me, please?"

I smiled at this. He could be really cute sometimes.

"I will, but first I really need a shower. I'll be back before you know it." So I took the shortest shower of my life, put on some fluffy pink PJs and slid under the covers next to him.

He extended his hand to me and I took it and we let sleep claim both of us, holding eachother's hand.

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